Hamburger Buddy

Very finely chopping onion, mushrooms and carrots in the food processor is not only fast—it makes the vegetables hard to detect for picky eaters. They also form the base for the sauce of this ground beef skillet supper. Make it a meal: Serve with a green salad.

READER'S COMMENT:

"Total comfort food! I've made this dish several times now. My partner actually requests it!
My modifications were based upon many suggested by other reviewers: Chop and shred your veggies for the texture, splash of red wine added...

154 Reviews for Hamburger Buddy

02/09/2013

Anonymous

Threw the whole thing in the garbage!!

I have NEVER had a recipe that I just threw in the garbage after tasting it. Waaaaay too much Thyme. The meat and veggies turned into a big mushy mess. The whole dish had zero flavor to it. GROSS GROSS GROSS!!!

I had high hopes for this dish. It looked and sounded scrumptious but the result was just sub-par. The taste was just not really held on together with the meat and the veggies. I can't describe it well but my husband said it was the result of trying to make a meal too healthy. It sure looked wonderful as I took it out of the oven...

This was a great meal however I made a few additions... I added finely pureed fresh spinach and pureed fresh tomatoes - no mushrooms! I also substituted the noodles for quinoa noodles...this dish came out awesome however it was low on flavor - next time I may add crushed red pepper and extra fresh pepper, maybe even some jalapeño juice to give it a little kick but overall it was delicious and a big hit with the hubby! Get creative and enjoy...

I followed many of the other reviewers suggestions to tweak this recipe. I omitted the thyme (i don't enjoy the flavor) and added a cajun season we use in the family. I used all low sodium beef stock instead of water, I chopped my veggies instead of using the food processor and I used greek yogurt instead of sour cream. The recipe turned out thick and flavorful. I wish i would have remember to throw in some frozen peas as some of the other reviewer had suggested. I will definitely make this again.

Neither my kids nor I are huge fans of carrots or onions, but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. The finely chopped veggies was a good way to disguise them. I made a few substitutions- ground turkey instead of beef and Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
The thyme flavor is strong, but it was fine for us. My 2 year old finished her bowl and my 4 year old asked for seconds. I'd say that was a success.